In State ex = rel. State=20 Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v Bedell, (No. = 35514,=20 W.Va., filed June 16, 2010), State Farm sought = and=20 obtained a writ of prohibition, stopping = enforcement of=20 a lower court=92s order that prohibited State = Farm from=20 electronically maintaining its records and which = called=20 for the return or destruction of plaintiff=92s = medical=20 records at the conclusion of the case. In = rejecting both=20 portions of the trial court=92s Order, the West = Virginia=20 Supreme Court held State Farm could not destroy = records=20 since that would violate Insurance Commissioner = record=20 retention regulations.

In a unanimous = opinion,=20 believed to be of national first impression, the = court=20 held State Farm acted in good faith when it = immediately=20 appealed the circuit court=92s Order and = returned the=20 plaintiff=92s medical records without reviewing = them. In=20 issuing its opinion, the supreme court issued a = new=20 syllabus point of law.

As to electronic = maintenance=20 of claim files, the court accepted the practice = as=20 economical and efficient and concluded the = plaintiff=20 failed to demonstrate good cause for a = protective order.=20 The court specifically found the plaintiff = failed to=20 present any evidence State Farm has violated = federal or=20 state privacy statutes. =93In the absence of any = factual=20 support,=94 the court held, =93the vague fears = articulated=20 by [the plaintiff] do not constitute the = =91particular and=20 specific demonstration of fact=92 that this = Court requires=20 from a party seeking a protective = order.=94=20 =